From May Day to Ascension and then onto June and National Day. It feels like they fall one after another. And, we have the double the fun in Sweden with “squeeze days”.

 

High Days

In Sweden there are two types of holidays, the traditional holidays observed by Christians and those public holidays established by acts of Parliament. For example:

 

Christian holidays:- Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, Ascension, Pentecost, All Saints Day etc

Other public holidays:- New Years Day, May Day (Workers Day), Swedish National Day, Midsommar etc.

 

Red Days

You might have heard these days referred to as ‘red days’. This is simply because these days are traditionally marked in calendars in red. These shouldn’t be confused with Flag Days which are not holidays but simply observed by home owners raising their Swedish flag on particular days, i.e. a birthday of a member of the Royal family and Nobel Day.

 

Squeeze Days

Or, klämdag refer to the day before or after an observed holiday that lies before the weekend. For example, Ascension falls on Thurs 10th May this year. Friday the 11th of May will be taken as a klämdag or squeeze day by most Swedes turning that weekend into a long one. This can also be applied to de facto half holidays… Valborgsmässoafton, All Saint’s eve. If Swedes don’t take the whole day, some will take half days.

 

School holidays

Always assume that preschool and grundskol will be closed on Swedish public holidays, Christian or otherwise. As previously mentioned, these have been established by acts of the Swedish Parliament and every resident of Sweden is entitled to them as holiday. HOWEVER, Sweden itself is split up into regions of holidays. Not every region has the same school holidays. If you’d like to plan ahead this excellent website is great for finding out what’s happening in your region, Feiertagskalendar.ch European School Holidays.

 

As for squeeze days/klämdags or half holidays, it can get a little more complex. Many of the half holidays fall during school holidays i.e. Höstlov, Påsklov. However, some of them take place in May. To be absolutely sure, check in with your schools administration for their opening times, particularly preschools.